Anniversary
by chikorita18
Summary: Okay, it's not really romance, but it wouldn't fit in anywhere else. A fic I came up with after watching Pokémon 3 for the 7th time - it's based on that party that Ash threw for Pikachu at the end of "Pikachu & Pichu"...Pikachu's not the only one Ash met


Anniversary  
  
Disclaimer: You know it, I know it, Nintendo knows it, blah, blah, blah.   
  
Summary: While planning a party for the anniversary of the day he and Pikachu met, Ash notices that Misty has fallen into silence. Worried about his friend, he goes to Brock to try and figure out the problem. But he soon realizes what he's done wrong...  
  
A/N: CHIKORITA IS BACK!! (sort of...see note at end of fic for reason) Anyway, this is based on that party at the end of "Pikachu and Pichu". This is how I think it should have gone!  
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"This is going to be so great!" Ash said, as he, Brock, and Misty walked out of the cake shop. "Pikachu will never expect this!"  
Brock smiled. "A party to celebrate the day you and Pikachu met," he said. "I'd have to say that that's the best thing you've ever done for your Pokémon. Don't you think so, Misty?"  
Misty had her eyes focused on the ground and hidden by a pair of sunglasses. "Huh?" she said, looking up. "Oh, yeah, it's great!"  
Ash frowned. "Misty, is there something bothering you?" he asked. "You've been so quiet ever since we started planning this party."  
"Yeah, I'm surprised you haven't started nitpicking at Ash for screwing things up yet."  
Misty didn't even have the heart to whack Brock, although she wanted to. "I don't know...maybe I'm getting sick."  
Ash sighed. "All right," he said. "But tell us if you are, all right?"  
Misty looked away. The truth was, every time someone mentioned the party that Ash was going to throw, she felt like someone was digging a knife into her heart. She knew that Ash and Pikachu were the picture of best buddies, but there was more to it. "I'm going to go shop," she declared suddenly. "I want to get the Pokémon some gifts."  
Ash and Brock watched her walk away. She didn't even notice when she walked past a Bug Pokémon. "What do you think is up with her?" Brock asked.  
"I don't know," Ash replied. "But it has to be something big, or she would have noticed that she just walked past a Beedrill..."   
Knowing Misty's fear of Bug-types, Brock nodded. "Yeah," he said. "But all we can do is hope that she'll be all right. You know she hates coming to us boys with her problems."  
Ash nodded. "Yeah, but I wish she'd get over it."  
  
Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, and Togepi rode in an elevator headed for the top floor of a huge skyscraper. Ash couldn't keep his eyes off of Misty. She looked so sad, her hands pressed against the window. She smiled at him when she noticed him staring at her, but not much else.   
Ash looked down at Pikachu as the little Pokémon started making faces at something outside the elevator (P&P: Pikachu sees the Pichu for the first time. One sticks it's tongue out at Pikachu, so Pikachu does the same) and smiled. Pikachu was going to be so surprised! The little guy had helped Ash through so much, the least he could do was let Pikachu know that he appreciated it. And let him know was what he planned to do.  
"Okay guys, here we are," he said. He took the rest of his PokéBalls from his waist and threw them. Brock and Misty did the same. Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Noctowl, Staryu, Poliwhirl, Goldeen, Psyduck, Onix, Geodude, Pineco, Zubat, and Vulpix appeared a second later.   
"Now, remember, just hang out here while we're gone," Ash said.  
"We have some things to do!" Misty said, a little too cheerfully.   
Raising his arms and folding them behind his head, Brock sighed. "Maybe I'll just stay and hang out, too."  
Misty frowned. "Oh, no, you don't!' she said. "C'mon!" She started pushing Brock towards the door.  
"Hey, take it easy on the vest!" Brock cried. "I only have one!"  
Ash laughed and looked back at the Pokémon. "Now listen up. See that clock tower? We'll be back at six o'clock exactly. Until then you can do anything you want - except get into trouble. Have fun!" (P&P theme music starts playing in author's head...)He followed Brock and Misty into the building, making sure to close the door tight enough so that none of the Pokémon could peek in.   
"What do you want us to do, Ash?" Misty asked. She seemed to be in better spirits.   
"Well, Brock, you can start putting up the decorations, and you can help me bring in the food, Misty," Ash said.   
"No problem," Brock said.  
Misty followed Ash into the kitchen, where several large cakes waited. "You know, there are some days where I wish we didn't have that many Pokémon," Ash said.  
"And this is one of them?" Misty supplied.  
"Yeah. But it's worth it just for Pikachu," Ash said.   
Misty's face fell again. "I have to go to the washroom first, Ash," she said.   
Ash frowned as she walked away. He carried a large cake into the dining room. "Brock, I'm getting really worried about her!" he said.   
"She's at it again?" Brock asked, speaking around the thumbtacks in his mouth.  
"Yeah," Ash said. He felt a sense of sadness wash over him. "I wish I knew why she was like this...I hate seeing her like this!"  
Brock jumped down from his chair. "Well, what do you say to her that makes her run off?"  
"This time I said that all this was worth it just for...." Ash stopped as it clicked in. He shut his eyes and muttered something that no twelve-year-old should mutter.  
"What?" Brock said.   
Ash looked at him. "I know what I did," he said.  
"What?"  
"The day I met Pikachu....it was also the day I met Misty. She must realize that, too....and think that I don't remember...or that I don't care..."  
"Oh," Brock said. "So what are you going to do?"  
Ash bit his lip, thinking. Finally, he grabbed his jacket. "I don't know," he said. "When she comes back in, tell her that I forgot something and had to run out to get it. Just don't tell her why."  
  
Misty sat in the washroom, huddled on the floor. "How can he not remember?" she whispered to herself. "It's so easy...he met me on the same day...don't I matter to him at all?"  
"Misty?" Brock's voice came through the door. "Are you all right?"  
"Yeah, I'm good," Misty lied.  
"No, you're not. Come out of there and tell me what's wrong!"  
"No," Misty said, rubbing the tears from her eyes.  
"Fine, then, let me in."  
"I don't want to," she said.  
"Misty, please....Ash is worried about you." Brock said, bringing in the big guns.  
Misty only started to cry harder at the mention of Ash's name.   
Brock jiggled the doorknob, only to find that it was open. He stepped in quietly and saw her on the floor. He kneeled beside her. "Misty..." he said. "Please tell me what's wrong!"  
"He doesn't care about me at all," Misty said. "Almost three years of traveling together, and he doesn't care about me at all..."  
"Misty, that's not true," Brock said.  
"Then why doesn't he remember that he met me on the same day he met Pikachu? Why all this fuss for Pikachu and nothing for me? He doesn't care, Brock, I'm just a thorn in his side..."  
"Misty, stop talking like that," Brock said.   
"Why?"  
"Because I know that Ash cares about you, he just hasn't realized it himself, yet." He was covering for Ash now. "Let's just get this thing set up, okay?"   
Misty looked up at Brock and nodded slowly.   
  
Ash came back about fifteen minutes later and they set up the rest of the party. He looked over at Brock a few times, to see if Misty really had been upset about what he thought. Brock nodded both times.   
Finally, they went outside to get their Pokémon. All sixteen Pokémon crowded in, even Onix, whom they weren't sure would even fit through the door. All of them were stunned.   
"Ash planned this for weeks!" Misty said, masking her sadness for the Pokémon.  
"An extra special occasion calls for an extra special party!" Brock added.  
Ash kneeled down beside an obviously bewildered Pikachu. "Don't you know what today is, Pikachu?" he said. "Today's the day we first met, the day we first became friends!"  
Pikachu's face lit up like a Christmas tree and it jumped into Ash's arms. "Dig in, everybody!" Ash said.  
Brock and Misty helped set out more food as the Pokémon began to feast on the dessert-orientated meal.   
Misty stopped as she heard Ash speaking to Pikachu. "Pikachu," he said. "Thanks for being my friend, buddy." He placed his Pokémon League cap on the little Pokémon's head. (This was the part in the theatre where everyone let out this big "Awwwwwww....")   
Misty felt tears burn her eyes as she watched. She turned away and walked to the window. Staring out of it, she felt a few stray tears work their way down her face. He meant so much to her, but she meant nothing to him. After all this time, she was nothing, just an annoying little girl who wouldn't leave him alone.   
Brock tapped Ash on the shoulder and pointed towards Misty. Ash nodded and slowly made his way towards her. She probably felt horrible right now. She probably thought that she was nothing to him at all. He closed the last few feet and stood there, silent for a moment, before speaking. "Misty, I'm sorry," he said.  
Misty didn't even look at him, for fear that he would just tell her to stop crying and grow up. "For what?"  
Ash didn't know what to say, what to do. "I just forgot," he said. "I should have remembered that you and I met on this day, too...I was just so caught up in Pikachu..."  
Misty turned around.   
Ash felt his heart miss a beat as he saw her tear-streaked face. "I hate it when you cry, Misty," he said. "Please..."  
Misty rubbed the tears from her eyes, but they refused to go away, even for Ash.   
Ash felt a lump rising in his throat as he spoke. "Is today that important of a day to you?"  
Misty nodded. "It changed my life, Ash," she replied.   
Ash smiled at her. "It changed mine, too," he said. "I honestly don't know if I would be here, as far as I've come, if I didn't have you with me. I know I've never said it, but...it's true."  
Misty looked at the ground. "I didn't really realize it until you started planning this thing for Pikachu...I guess I just thought that I was no cause for celebration...after all, I've been a rotten friend..."  
Ash cupped her chin in his hands. "Misty, don't talk like that!" he said. "You've been a great friend to me, Mist, and..."  
"No, I haven't!" Misty said. "All this time, I've never said anything to encourage you...I'm always trying to tear you down...it's the way I am, Ash, I can never be someone's friend!"  
"But you're mine," Ash interrupted. "And that's all that matters to me. You're my friend...no, you're my best friend. I don't care what anyone else thinks, you're always going to be my best friend!"  
Misty pulled away and turned back to the window.   
"Mist..."  
"Just...leave me alone." She hated herself for turning her back on the boy that she had been wanting to notice her, but...  
"No," Ash said simply. "That's what's been pulling us apart, Misty! Why can't you let me help you?"  
"I don't need help," she said quietly.  
Ash's face fell. Finally deciding that it was futile to try and get her to talk, he walked back to where Brock was waiting. "So?" the older boy said.  
Ash shook his head. "Every time I get anywhere near her, she pushes me away..."  
"She just needs a bit of time to think," Brock said.   
Ash flopped down in a chair. "I thought this party was going to be fun...why do I feel like dirt?"  
Brock leaned against a table. "You've been with her a long time, Ash," he said. "Maybe it's time you start to consider that you have...different feelings for her than you did a little while ago."  
Ash looked up at him. "What do you mean?" he asked.  
"Well, think about it. You're both growing up, maturing...and you're starting to see each other in a different light..."  
Ash dropped his head into his hands. "Where'd you get that idea?" he said.  
Brock gave his friend a huge grin. "I have an informer."   
Ash frowned. "Who?"  
"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you...or you'd kill him..."  
"Excuse me while I make a mental note to severley injure Tracey the next time I see him," Ash muttered. (A/N: Brock's too clueless to figure out the whole Ash/Misty thing. I had to come up with some excuse, and what better exvuse than my buddy Tracey?)  
"Darn it."  
Ash shook his head again. "There's no way, Brock, we're too young."  
Brock sighed. "Excuses, excuses," he said, growing serious."Deny it if you want. But trust me, just giving up when she refuses to talk, you won't get anywhere with that."  
"I can't talk to her when she won't listen."  
"Just let her know that you care, Ash."  
Ash felt his chest tightening. "You're right," he finally said. "I do feel differently about her...all I want is to see her happy again..."  
"Then don't give up," Brock said. "Don't let her go through this alone."  
Ash nodded. But he didn't approach her until the party was over. She was picking up some streamers that had ended up on the floor thanks to Totodile's adventurous streak. "Misty?" he said.  
"I don't want to talk," Misty said.   
"Then just listen," Ash said.  
Misty looked at him.  
"Misty, you know I hate to see you upset...I hate to see you sad, angry, whatever...because...when I see you like that, I know that it's usually my fault...but...I don't want you to be sad...I hate it when you refuse to let me talk to you...to try and help you..."  
"You can't change the way I am, so why even try?" Misty said, staring at the floor.  
"Because you're my best friend, and maybe someday, you'll mean even more to me."  
Misty looked up, stunned by the last comment.   
"And what kind of friend just abandons one who needs help?" He took a hand in his. "Misty, you don't have to say or do anything right now...all I want is your promise that you'll talk to me when something bothers you. I promise I'll listen from now on, and I'll try not to be such a jerk. Just don't make me see you like this anymore."  
Misty didn't know what to think. Finally, she nodded slowly. "Okay," she whispered.  
Ash smiled. "Now let's get this thing cleaned up so we can hit the road again."  
  
  
THE END  
  
A/N: I have to warn you that all of the fics I'm gonna post were written in about an hour while I was having a bit of a paranormal experience...(no, I did not see a UFO, I was just out of it) so most of them probably either make little sense or they just plain suck.  
  



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